Apparatus and method for reducing noise
First Claim
1. Apparatus for reducing noise in an area, comprising a transducer disposed at a first location and arranged to transduce sound substantially in said area into a signal which is measurably by a measuring device, said measuring device being disposed at said first location or at a second location and coupled to a sound cancellation device, said sound cancellation device being configured to generate a cancellation signal of approximately an equal intensity and opposite polarity to said measurably signal and to transmit said cancellation signal to said area thereby substantially reducing the amount of noise audible in said area.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus and method for reducing noise in a vehicle is provided. The apparatus uses an interferometer disposed in a headset to measure the sound proximate the driver'"'"'s ears. An equal and opposite sound is generated and transmitted to the ear thereby reducing the level of noise audible to the driver. A microphone may be provided to make a separate measurement of the background noise to facilitate the noise reduction. A tracking device may be used to find and track the location of the driver'"'"'s ears.
69 Citations
64 Claims
- 1. Apparatus for reducing noise in an area, comprising a transducer disposed at a first location and arranged to transduce sound substantially in said area into a signal which is measurably by a measuring device, said measuring device being disposed at said first location or at a second location and coupled to a sound cancellation device, said sound cancellation device being configured to generate a cancellation signal of approximately an equal intensity and opposite polarity to said measurably signal and to transmit said cancellation signal to said area thereby substantially reducing the amount of noise audible in said area.
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23. A method for reducing noise in an area, the method comprising the steps of:
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transducing sound in said area into a signal, measuring said signal from a location remote from said area, generating a signal of approximately an equal intensity and opposite polarity to said measured signal, and transmitting said generated signal to said area, thereby substantially reducing the amount of noise audible in said area.
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- 25. Apparatus for reducing noise as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figures.
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26. Apparatus for reducing noise in an area proximate an ear of an observer, comprising:
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a transducer arranged to transduce noise sound substantially in said area into a signal;
a measuring device arranged to measure the signal from the transducer;
a sound cancellation device configured;
to receive information from the measuring device;
to generate a cancellation sound of approximately an equal intensity and opposite polarity to said noise sound; and
to transmit said cancellation sound to said area thereby substantially reducing the amount of noise sound audible in said area by said observer, characterised in that;
the transducer is mounted on the body of the observer, the measuring device is remote from the transducer, and the transducer wire-lessly transmits the signal, representing sound in the vicinity of the ear canal, to the measuring device. - View Dependent Claims (28, 30, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 53, 56, 59)
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47. A method for reducing noise in an area proximate an ear of an observer, the method comprising the steps of:
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transducing noise sound in said area into a signal, measuring said signal generating a sound of approximately an equal intensity and opposite polarity to said measured sound, and transmitting said generated sound to said area, thereby substantially reducing the amount of noise audible in said area, characterised in that the method further comprises;
using a transducer mounted on the body of the observer; and
wire-lessly transmitting the signal from the transducer to a remote measuring device. - View Dependent Claims (49, 51, 54, 55, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63)
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64. Apparatus for reducing noise as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figures.
Specification